I agree on all accounts there. As for gamepad locomotion it’s moreso a means to an end as most of the promising leg contraptions are expensive for your average consumer. Heck even the newest version of the Hydra hand controllers are like +200 bucks. I got a few concepts of what is basically a modified Dance Dance pad that I’ve been toying with in my head, it’s nothing special but I figure it will be the only cost viable option mainstream is going to get for quite some time. I haven’t seen Patims work yet but it sounds interesting.
And I too would love to see a VR version of Tresspasser.
EDIT:
Ahh I fully understand what you mean now. I agree that games that are attempting to emulate virtual reality do need significantly more work in terms of the immersion department. That is of course if they are going the full VR route. I guess the best way to categorize it is that there seem to be two levels of VR, entertainment and simulation.
There are plenty of great and fun casual VR style games out there and they work extremely well with a controller but I feel that it is more along the lines of what I call immersive gameplay in which you are not trying to completely emulate VR but you are going about it in a way that does a good job throwing you into the world of that project. Something like the Doom 3 VR which was beautifully executed.
As we all know this is all early stuff so throwing VR at the end of your projects name is trendy but to simulate VR vs just making a fun 3D game are two different types of development and both have their own place in Oculus. It really comes down to us to choose which path we want to go down for our project and keep that in mind from the beginning to the end of development. Sometimes sacrificing realism in terms of gameplay is good, but that of course is counter productive if you intended to create a simulation.
I agree completely. I don’t think we will ever see a physical solution to the virtual distance vs game play space problem that isn’t janky. So that leaves only software options like faking distances walked using algorithms like Valve, Allowing limited movement in a predefined space, or allowing the player to explore using the analog stick. Don’t let this design constraint limit the scope of your games. Look for solutions!
Reading and watching alot of the stuff you guys posted, it’s pretty sweet. Totally geeking out on this stuff.